Tag:

hepatitis C

Latest Headlines

Latest Headlines

Without insurance, hepatitis C patients must delay pricey treatment

Hepatitis C is an expensive health condition that only gets worse if treatment is delayed or postponed--and a new study published in the  American Journal of Gastroenterology  suggests that a lack of insurance is the "only barrier" facing those unable to obtain treatment.

Aetna, Humana deals with hep C drug maker help improve 2015 outlooks

Although Aetna reported increased fourth quarter profits and Humana said its profits were lower than expected, both insurers have favorable outlooks for 2015--largely because of agreements they've reached with hepatitis c drug maker Gilead.

Insurers increase cost-sharing measures for specialty drugs

Insurers are adopting more cost-sharing measures, especially coinsurance, to shift the costs of expensive specialty drugs onto consumers who purchase plans sold on health insurance exchanges, according to a new analysis from Avalere Health.

Insurers figure out ways to cover pricey treatments

To help defray the high costs of certain treatments and prescription drugs, like hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, insurers are figuring out different ways to cover the drugs and services by limiting who can have access to them, reported  Kaiser Health News.

Medicaid insurers struggle to pay for pricey drugs

Medicaid insurers are struggling to pay for pricey drugs, leading some to request states to increase payments so they can run their plans. Meanwhile, some states are deciding restrict the expensive medications.

Report: Medicare Part D spending will soar from hep C drugs

As the health insurance and pharma industries clash over the cost of hepatitis C drugs, a new report finds the high-priced meds will drive up Medicare Part D spending by about $2.9 billion to $5.8 billion next year.

Insurers urge Gilead rivals to discount hep C drugs

Insurers are still reeling from the $84,000 price tag of the Gilead Sciences hepatitis C drug Sovaldi reports Reuters. For the nearly 3.2 million Americans who have hep C, it would cost $200 billion to treat them.

Report questions safety, efficacy of pricey hepatitis C drug Sovaldi

Recent studies of the hepatitis C drug Sovaldi are of poor quality and don't answer pertinent questions about the drug's safety, according to a new report from The Center for Evidence-Based Policy at Oregon Health and Science University.

AHIP slams pharma for taking advantage of insurers

America's Health Insurance Plans has called out the drug industry for the soaring costs of new specialty medications, saying such expensive pricing is unsustainable and takes unfair advantage of health insurers

Humana, WellCare, Molina report strong Medicaid growth

Humana's first-quarter profit of $368 million beat analyst expectations but still dropped 22 percent from last year's first quarter of $473 million, partly due to marketing expenses and investments related to new products.